Aart Schonk

Aart Schonk (1946 - 2015) was educated at the Rijksakademie der Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam where he studied modelling with Esser, Hund and Grégoire; carving with Van der Pant; and drawing with Den Ouden in an evening class. But however you looked at the education provided by the Rijksakademie, it was training aimed at producing modellers. Schonk, however, wanted to learn the traditional form of sculpting: carving. Once having graduated from the Rijksakademie, he devoted himself increasingly to this goal. He wanted to understand more about the approaches used by Giovanni Pisano, Jacopo della Quercia, Donatello and Michelangelo. Because there was actually nobody in the Netherlands from whom he could learn, he rented a room in Carrara during his summer holidays when he was not attending the Rijksakademie. Here, he worked during the day at the carving studio of one of the many marble companies which, like bronze foundries, are so common in the region. Today, he and his wife Eva Steiner live and work for much of the year in Pietrasanta, a town south of Carrara.

In this region, Schonk became a real carver of marble figures and monumental groups of figures, but he also models, paints and draws. His most important theme is Greek mythology; the content of two of the torsos discussed in this article is directly related to this theme.

Schonk’s approach, thus, is that of the taille directe. He begins by drawing a general picture of his figure in charcoal on the marble and then starts to carve. He knows how far into the stone he can go; carving too deeply would be irreversible and would mean making changes over a large part of the surface, and thus to the entire sculpture. Yet this is exactly the kind of challenge that appeals to his creative imagination.

Schonk seems to be trying to achieve something rather paradoxical: to have the figure appear as three-dimensional as possible whilst removing a minimum of stone. This is most obvious on the upper and lower surfaces of the sculpture: it is obvious that the sculpture was once a rectangular block standing on the surface chosen as the base. And when looking at the upper surface, it is easy to see where the stone ends. Almost every one of Schonk’s sculptures has a surface that has turned a darker colour after having been exposed a long time to the elements. Schonk prefers not to polish this away for the sake of aesthetics; this was the contour of the block and so it shall remain. Such a surface can be found on each side of the sculpture except for the front. It serves as a demonstration of craftsmanship but is not intended to be overly conspicuous.

For Schonk, three-dimensionality is an essential element of sculpture. Although the front, sides and back are clearly apparent, he wants to create an object in space intended to be seen from all sides. It should offer an image that is sculpturally interesting from any point of view.

The torsos are contained within a block shape that provides the figures with a foundation and a sense of solidity. This solidity/strength is also realised by having the shapes of the figures remain anonymous. No attempt is made to create marble individuals, even though they have no head, arms or legs. Characteristic of Schonk’s sculptures is that no matter from what angle they are viewed, the original outer contours of the block are clearly suggested. For Schonk, the most important aspect in creating a torso is finding the right proportions between the selected block and the sculpture he wants to carve from it.